The Difference Between Academic & Non-Academic Materials

It's vital to understand the difference between those materials which are "academic" and those which are not. So here's a reminder for everyone.

Academic materials are written by academic researchers, usually attached to universities. These people are considered to be experts in what they are writing about and their views and opinions have authority. Using them in your assignments will give authority to your work and will help you to get better grades.

The most authoritative materials of all are those which have been peer-reviewed. This means that the material is first scutinised by a panel of academic researchers who will assess it for quality. Only if they consider it of a suitable standard will they allow it to be published.

The most usual sources of academic material are:

• Journals
• Books
• Conference proceedings
• Research reports
• Postgraduate dissertations & theses

All of the above can be found by using DISCOVER. Be sure to tick the box for "peer-reviewed" if you want to find only peer-reviewed materials.

Non-academic materials are not written by academic researchers and the authors may not be experts in what they are writing about. The work is unlikely to be researched in depth and does not have the same authority as the academic sources. Relying only on non-academic sources for assignments means that your work does not have authority and you are unlikely to get a very good grade.

Some of the most examples of non-academic materials include:

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• DVDs
• TV & radio programmes
• Websites
• Youtube videos